SC to consider transfer of UP PF scam case from Ghaziabad

The Supreme Court on Wedesday said it would consider CBI's plea seeking transfer of Uttar Pradesh Provident Fund scam case from a court in Ghaziabad to the national capital as the investigating agency has cited practical difficulties in conducting the probe.

"We have to consider whether there is a need to transfer the case as CBI finds practical difficulties in continuing with the judicial procedure in Ghaziabad court," a Bench comprising Justices Arijit Pasayat, V S Sirpurkar and G S Singhvi said.

Besides the other grounds raised by the CBI in its second status report filed in a sealed cover for shifting the case to Delhi, the Bench noted that the agency has sought transfer of the case as the probe in it was started on the complaint of the Special CBI judge of Ghaziabad.

The names of 34 members of the judiciary have cropped up in the scam including an apex court judge, seven Allahabad High Court judges, six retired High Court judges and 12 judges from subordinate judiciary in Uttar Pradesh.

Solicitor General G E Vahanvati, who filed the third status report complying with the apex court's March 27 order, said there were practical difficulties in proceeding with the case in Ghaziabad.

He said the Ghaziabad court seized with the matter was not recording the confessional statement under section 164 of the CrPC of the accused persons despite the application in this regard pending for a long.